บท 12: Leviathan's Roar
The beast that had awakened from the ruins of the ocean's abyss flattened the nearby buildings with ease, turning them into rubble and dust, and the resulting turmoil clouded the water with a dense murk, obscuring everything like a thick fog.
Startled, Grayson retreated, shielding his face from the flying debris while keeping his eyes fixed on where the creature had emerged.
He watched in awe as a neck, easily a dozen meters long, stretched out from the murky water, bearing a colossal head covered in hard scales. Its six fierce eyes glowed with ferocity, and its gaping maw seemed large enough to swallow a two-story house whole.
As it straightened its body, it slammed its colossal forelimbs down onto the seabed, creating ripples that spread rapidly and shook the ocean floor violently.
"My gods, what in the seven seas is that?" Grayson's eyes widened with shock, having never encountered such a massive and terrifying creature in his career as a demon hunter.
The beast surveyed the streets with its six blood-red eyes and upon spotting Grayson, it bellowed a furious roar. Out of the murky waters emerged six monstrous sea serpents, their menacing jaws diving towards Grayson.
"Damn it! Hold on tight, little one!" Grayson shouted to the little owl perched atop his head as he dashed along the street, with the six serpents in hot pursuit. One serpent lunged from the side, its jaws agape for a bite, but Grayson leaped up, buoyed by the water, to avoid the creature below. His silver sword flashed as he severed the serpent's head, then he lunged forward to escape the continued assault from the other five.
Landing and rolling to his feet, Grayson suddenly found another serpent bearing down on him with its teeth bared. In the nick of time, Elyra's eyes glowed, petrifying the serpent in place, and with a slash of his sword, Grayson shattered its jaw. Pushing off the ground, he rolled away, putting distance between himself and the remaining four serpents.
With no path of retreat left, Grayson faced the approaching serpents, their house-sized bodies blocking his way. "Little one, it's time for a real team effort!" In desperation, Grayson called out to Elyra.
As one of the serpents struck from the right, Elyra twisted her head, locking it in place with her gaze, while Grayson somersaulted to the left, climbing over the head of another serpent and hoisting its neck upward, leveraging the momentum of the movement.
The serpent from the front seized the opportunity to bite its companion's head off, and Grayson, seizing his moment, swept his sword to sever the neck of the attacker. He landed firmly a few meters away, calmly walking up to the immobilized serpent on the right to deal the final blow.
But suddenly, the last serpent, hidden in the dark, lunged at Grayson from behind. As the steel teeth and gaping maw closed in, Grayson instinctively raised his sword to block. A series of gunshots rang out, and the serpent's head was blown apart, collapsing in front of Grayson.
"Oh, darling, I owe you one!" Grayson looked up to see Katheren perched on the rooftop ahead, her relieved expression evident as she saw him unharmed.
Before Katheren could reply, the colossal beast loomed over her, raising a limb as large as a hill to smite her down.
"Katheren, watch out!" Seeing the impending danger, Grayson shouted a warning.
Hearing Grayson's cry, Katheren turned to see the malevolent face of the leviathan and its deadly claw descending. She turned pale with fear and froze, forgetting even to run.
In the critical moment, a swift shadow darted under the creature's claw, snatching Katheren away just as the claw crashed down, demolishing the rooftop. The collapse triggered a chain reaction, obliterating the surrounding buildings and causing debris to scatter through the waters, once again obscuring the visibility.
The rescuer, Seraphine, pulled Grayson and Elyra atop the great white shark and used the murky water as cover to escape the leviathan's sight, taking refuge on the rooftop of a nearby street.
"What is that thing?" they all lay on the roof, watching the leviathan wreak havoc on the surrounding buildings. It was covered in thick, long serpents, its skin armored with hard scales, and spikes protruding all over, resembling a wingless dragon.
Silently watching the leviathan's rampage, Seraphine speculated, "I think I've seen this creature depicted on the temple's murals. Its name is Leviathan..."
"Leviathan? I've heard that name before, but I thought it was only a legend..."
Grayson looked back at Seraphine in surprise. She nodded slightly before adding, "Yes, to humans it's a legend, but in reality, it has always lain dormant at the bottom of the Daxi Ocean."
"The elders say it was created by the ancient gods to guard the oceans. However, over time, it escaped the control of the gods and became a monstrous beast roaming the seas. The sea god had no choice but to seal it at the bottom of the Daxi Ocean."
"No wonder the elders declared this area forbidden. They must have known Leviathan slumbered here, and the sinking of the Kingdom of Atlantis two centuries ago must also be connected to Leviathan!" Grayson said, realizing the link.
Just then, the little owl, Elyra, perched on Grayson's hat, suddenly screeched, "Look, that fish is about to be eaten!"
Following the direction of Elyra's wing, they saw a mermaid being relentlessly chased by several giant serpents, cornering her from all directions.
"Oh no, that's Alyssia!" Seraphine recognized her former guardian, and, gripping Grayson's arm in panic, exclaimed.
Knowing that they couldn't afford losing the last lead on Alyssia, Grayson asked the little owl, "Elyra, can you immobilize Leviathan?"
"Don't count on me—I can handle a big snake at most, but not a monster like that!" Elyra cried in protest.
"Then stay here!" Grayson stood up from the rooftop and strode towards the great white shark. Seraphine asked in surprise, "What are you doing?"
Without answering, Grayson scooped up the little owl and tucked her into Katheren's protective bubble. Then he jumped onto the shark and charged towards the leviathan.
"Grayson!" Seraphine rose from the rooftop in shock, watching his retreating figure. After a moment of hesitation, she turned back to Katheren and Elyra, "Stay here, I'm going to help him," and then swam off following Grayson.
The serpents, having cornered Alyssia, were about to offer her to the leviathan as prey. Overcome with terror, Alyssia fainted at the sight of the monstrous maw.
Just as the serpents prepared to feed her to Leviathan, Grayson arrived atop the great white shark, swiftly decapitating the snake holding her, and dragged her onto the shark's back before speeding away in the direction they had come.
Enraged at being attacked, the leviathan opened its massive jaws and began to suck in water. An immense whirlpool formed, drawing in Grayson, Alyssia, and the great white shark.
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง